After my death our beloved Church abroad will break three ways ... first the Greeks will leave us as they were never a part of us ... then those who live for this world and its glory will go to Moscow ... what will remain will be those souls faithful to Christ and His Church.~St. Philaret of NY

> In connection with Archbishop Andronik’s statement concerning his recognition of and his submission to the Ukases of the Hierarchal Synod and Council of the ROCA, I withdraw the Ukase of the Hierarchical Synod concerning his retirement and order the restoration of his status in the Canadian and Syracuse Dioceses, as it was before the meeting of the last Hierarchal Synod on 19-29 July, 2016. At general parish meetings, the parishes in Astoria and Valley Cottage will choose to which diocese they will belong, and these decisions will be supported and confirmed by the Synod.

>

> 3/16 August 2016

> + Metropolitan Agafangel

> +Archbishop George (I agree with the decision of the Metropolitan only for the sake of the peace and unity of the ROCA)

Archbishop Chrysostomos, who until May, 1967, was Archbishop of Athens and Primate of the Church of Greece, died on Pentecost Sunday, May 27 (June 9), 1968. One of the last strongholds of uncompromising Orthodoxy in the Church of Greece, he devoted his life to the defense of Holy Orthodoxy and the service of the Greek people, revealing himself especially in his last years, when Primate, as a vigorous opponent of modernism and apostasy in the Church.

Born Themistocles S. Hadjistavrou, the son of an oil merchant, in 1880 in Aydin (Asia Minor), he graduated with honors from the Orthodox Theological Seminary of Halke. After ordination he volunteered for service in Eastern Macedonia, then under Turkish rule, and whole there he helped organize Greek fighting bands. He was sentenced to four years in prison by the Turks, but he escaped to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he studied for 18 months.

At the age of 30 he was consecrated bishop, and three years later he was given his first see, Philadelphia (now Alasehir, Turkey). His continued patriotic activities angered the turks, and in 1914 he was condemned to death on a charge of maintaining secret contacts with Circassian rebels. Intervention from abroad led to a commutation of the sentence to a year of house arrest.

In 1922, when the greek army was defeated by the Turks in Asia Minor, Archbp. Chrysostomos (then Metropolitan of Ephesus) was captured by Turkish irregulars, but he escaped with the aid of the captain of a British cruiser. Two years later he served briefly as Metropolitan in Veria-Naousa, and later he took over the newly0created Diocese of Kavalla, the main port of East Macedonia, where he served for 38 years.

In 1962, at the age of 82, he was elected Primate of the Church of Greece, and for five years he occupied a leading role in the Orthodox fight against the unionizing and apostate policies of Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople. When he first heard of the meeting of the Patriarch with the Pope in Jerusalem in January, 1964 (which involved joint prayer and other uncanonical acts), he immediately protested and called for vigils and services to be held throughout the city of Athens as a protest, himself presiding at the vigil at Petraki Monastery in Athens.

He appealed to the Holy Mountain and received in reply a Proclamation signed by numerous Abbots and monks in support of his strong stand on behalf of Orthodoxy (printed in Against False Union).

He protested again the patriarch's "lifting" of the Anathema against the Latin church in December 1965, stating officially that "the act of the lifting of the excommunication of the part of the Ecumenical Patriarch has no validity for the Ecumenical Orthodox Church. The excommunication of the Roman church as heretical is a pan-Orthodox act, having been confirmed according to the canons of the Orthodox Church by all the Orthodox Churches..."

When he received a Greek translation of the eloquent letter of protest of Metr. Philaret (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) against the lifting of the Anathema, he was so pleased that he jumped up from his desk and went out into the halls shouting with joy for all at the Archdiocese to come and see it.

The Archbishop's enemies caricatured him as a hard, narrow-minded fanatic; but in actual fact he preserved to the end the fiery enthusiasm and open-heartedness of his youth. When he received a Greek translation of the eloquent letter of protest of Metr. Philaret (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) against the lifting of the Anathema, he was so pleased that he jumped up from his desk and went out into the halls shouting with joy for all at the Archdiocese to come and see it. Again, in his correspondence with Cardinal Bea he set forth his position courageously and politely, yet not with that false politeness that would demand a betrayal of the Faith. He quoted Latin documents that prove the insincerity of the Latins themselves, and proved from the Pope's encyclicals why a "dialogue" is impossible since a prerequisite for this must be the recognition of the Papal primacy.

In Greece itself, unlike some of his predecessors who persecuted them, he was sympathetic to the Old Calendarists. From the point of view of the strictest Orthodoxy, his adherence to the New Calendar (required by the Church of Greece) and his contacts with the Moscow Patriarchate may be considered his chief failings.

One of his last official acts was to swear in the new cabinet after it seized power in April, 1967. A few days later, as he was leading the Great Friday procession in Athens, he collapsed with a heart attack and was hospitalized. Within a month he was uncanonically removed by the new government. He recovered quickly from his illness and spent the last year in the seclusion of his home near Athens.

His successor, Archbishop Ieronymos, has pursued an actively ecumenical line and has already done much to undo the work and influence of Archbishop Chrysostomos.

And thus the Orthodox Church has lost one of her modern-day champions – in fact, almost the last major hierarch outside the Russian Church Abroad to speak out openly against contemporary ecumenism and apostasy. May God grant that, in the Church of Greece as elsewhere, there may yet be others!

On the day of the Feast of the Precious Wood of the Holy Cross Metropolitan Agafangel served the first Divine Liturgy in the house church in honor of the Myrrh-Bearers (at the Synodal building in Valley Cottage, NY, USA). Archbishop George led the choir. After the service, there was a meeting with parishioners, to discuss the situation prevailing in our Church. Now worship in the house church of the Synod will be held regularly.

We have been very busy the last two weeks with youth retreats at St Nicholas Convent. Glory to God all went well. The first week a handful of people visited the Convent and we began work on a small cemetery chapel dedicated to the Holy Myrrhbearers. With some youth from Holy Trinity parish in Astoria as well as volunteers of the GOC’s St Paul’s Fellowship of Labor http://www.thespfl.com walls, floors and windows were installed on a small shed which will be converted into a cemetery chapel. During the next week’s youth retreat matushka Olga Mironova from St Xenia’s parish in Ottawa, Ontario led a crew of young painters and begin work on decorating the chapel. Fr Daniel Meschter was on hand that week, providing spiritual guidance for the group and celebrating Divine Liturgy at the Convent.

Between August 7-13 the Convent sponsored a youth retreat for children from the ages of 7-12 which was held at the nearby St Andrew’s Retreat Center. A number of adults, including matushkas Sasha Dobrorvanov, Olga Mironova and Vera Boulter, helped with supervising and organizing activities for the 25 children who attended camp. The theme for the week was centered on St Panteleimon and the unmercenary saints. The children had a wonderful time taking part in the many wonderful arts & crafts activities the parents so lovingly planned as well as enjoying time at the beach and blueberry picking. Part of a day was also spent at St Nicholas Convent where the children volunteered their time and helped on projects in the garden, cleaning church vessels, and helping with the new chapel. Fr Oleg Mironov celebrated Divine Liturgy for the feast of St Panteleimon and many of the children participated in singing, reading and serving in the altar.

We give thanks to God for allowing us such a fruitful two weeks, weeks not only practically helpful but beneficial for our souls. The Convent is deeply appreciative of the time and labor so generously given by the volunteers and adults both weeks.

“On the day called Sunday” by Justin Martyr (A.D. 110-165)

“And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the
memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the overseer verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things.

Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the overseer in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.

And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the overseer, who provides for the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.

But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.”

Today, the day of the death of Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), in St Michael Church in Odessa participants "ROCA Way in the modern world" prayed for the requiem, which celebrated Metropolitan Agafangel.

'Fr. Gregory' frgregory@sjkp.org [haitianorthodoxmission]

[Attachment(s) from Fr. Gregory included below]
Blessings! Thanks be to God, the well problem was resolved. Next
project... a much-needed library for the school. What was originally
intended as overnight quarters for visiting priests (like me), badly
damaged by the earthquake, above the school office and pump-house, is
being demolished and expanded Nicolas has commitments from several
international aid agencies for text and reference books... once there's a
suitable space to house them.

The entire project
(including security doors, bookcases, tables, chairs, etc.) is expected
to cost about $6500. Your help is badly needed... and a large donation
might get you (or a loved one) a memorial plaque in Haiti!

Blessings! Safely (and apparently soundly) back from Haiti, to confront the usual mountain of work... just today I finally managed to get sifted through (most) e-mail and process accumulated orders (but not yet shipped... that's for Monday). The trip, finagled at the last minute, was good and useful, I think. Several hours of "face time" with Fr. Amboise (we do much better that way than by e-mail, and telephone is pretty much useless except for making appointments and arrangements), and a good visit to St. Augustine's in Jacmel for the parish feast (transferred to the Sunday following) and good conferences with several of the key people there.

A looming (long-standing!) need for St. Augustine's School... a viable "library". Nothing on the scale of what that word implies to you... an available 20' square room, mildly earthquake damaged, which needs finishing of walls, floor & ceiling, construction of bookcases (concrete... termites eat anything else!), tables and chairs, for our upper-level students. Several international aid agencies are standing by to donate books... but won't do it until there's a suitable space for them (understandably!).

The
two links are from the Divine Liturgy this morning, the Schola Cantorum
chanting, Father Photios as celebrant and Gospeller -the Epistoler is
Subdcn Jim Kalbasky. This first is from the Synaxis, including the
Typica and Beatitudes with verses for the Mode of the week, and the
Fathers from the 6th Ode of the Canon (the melody of which I pounded out
at 0500 this morning).

A good week to all.

John Peter Presson

Protopsaltis of the Diocese of Etna and Portland

Director of Liturgical Music -Holy Nativity of the Theotokos Cathedral -Portland, OR

The Root Cause of Islamic Violence - OnePeterFive

Pope Francis’ most recent comments attempting to separate Islamic religious beliefs from Islamic violence are deeply misleading. They are not just slightly or partially incorrect, but dangerously wrong. They stand in direct contradiction to the Church and her saints’ long history of experience and understanding of the Islamic world.

In the context of yet another airplane interview — this time returning from World Youth Day in Poland, Francis was asked to discuss the threat posed by Islamic violence — now occurring with alarming frequency throughout the world — against the backdrop of the murder of French priest Fr. Jacques Hamel at the hands of jihadis as he offered Mass. I have included the full text of the pope’s comments below in block quotes, broken into sections to allow for my commentary:

I don’t like to speak of Islamic violence, because every day, when I browse the newspapers, I see violence, here in Italy… this one who has murdered his girlfriend, another who has murdered the mother-in-law… and these are baptized Catholics! There are violent Catholics!

This answer is a complete diversion. Of course there are violent people in any religion, race, or culture. This fact is an undeniable result of our fallen nature on account of original sin. So yes, there are violent people everywhere.

But what makes Islamic violence unique are its origins and purpose. Where it comes from, to whom it is directed, and how it is justified cannot merely be ignored or dismissed. In an Islamic context, the use of violence against another is rooted in the Islamic understanding of the person. Per Islamic theology, man is a mere creation, made not in the image of God, but as a mere animal. His humanity is believed to be an extrinsic quality that is bestowed upon him with his creation, but is not a permanent part of him. Rather, it is the Islamic belief that to be a human is to be a Muslim in good standing.

As far as non-Muslims are concerned, Islam regards them as men and women who by their own will have mutilated themselves by rejecting Islam. It is therefore permitted to kill these unbelievers on account of their non-belief. In the case of children, the teaching of Islam is that since they did not have a “choice” in their “apostasy,” they may legitimately be taken from their families and forcibly converted to Islam.

When it comes to the Muslim treatment of other Muslims, it is believed that a Muslim who either does not practice Islam or who practices a heterodox form of Islam makes himself an apostate and can be treated the same as a non-Muslim. While violence is not mandated in Islam, it is wholly permitted and no moral penalty is attached to the use of it. It is a permissible individual choice, and one Muslim cannot, in a moral sense, tell another Muslim not to use violence against a non-Muslim if he so wishes.

The perfect model for Islamic behavior and life is none other than Muhammad himself. Christians say “What would Jesus do,” and Muslims say “What would Muhammad do.” Muhammad is even called “al-insan al-kamil,” meaning “the perfect man” because all his actions are regarded as a perfect model for human behavior. The question when evaluating the morality of Islamic action according to their own internal system of belief therefore becomes, what did Muhammad do? By all of the orthodox Islamic accounts, Muhammad was a mass-murderer, a pedophile, a necrophile, a serial rapist, a man who claimed he was possessed by demons, a highway robber, a liar, a deceiver, and a tyrant who placed his concept of divine beatitude at the service of his own acquisition of power, money, and sex in this life with the promise that these same ill-gotten pleasures would endure perpetually in the afterlife. As St. Alphonsus Liguori said, “the Mahometan paradise is fit only for beasts, for only filthy sensual pleasure is there.”

Pope Francis’ statement is simply false. In the Islamic system of belief, violence is given a divine blessing in a way that no other religion does.

If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence . . . and no, not all Muslims are violent, not all Catholics are violent.

Catholic violence? Which Catholic violence is that, exactly? I have never seen a Catholic blow up a bus of Muslim school children while screaming “JESUS IS LORD,” or use dull blades to behead countless Muslims in internet videos — all while praising the saints — or any number more of the gruesome things that are a daily suffering for Christians and others living in Muslim lands. To the contrary, in my many years of studying Islam, I have seen Muslims do these things regularly, and with impunity.

To even suggest that an equivalency exists between Islamic brutality and some imaginary “Catholic violence” is a blasphemy against the true God and an insult to those persons who suffer under the very real oppression of Islamic tyranny.

It is like a fruit salad; there’s everything. There are violent persons of this religion… this is true: I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. Fundamentalists. We have them. When fundamentalism comes to kill, it can kill with the language — the Apostle James says this, not me — and even with a knife, no?

Again, Francis uses “fundamentalism” as a pejorative, as he has so often done before. But this is not an accurate usage of the term.

The word “fundamentalism” finds its origin in a Protestant series of books published in the early 20th century. These books set out to articulate the “fundamentals” of Protestant belief. As such, “fundamentalism” in a modern sense means a belief in the fundamentals of faith — not a bad thing in relation to a faith worth believing in. As mentioned earlier, however, for a Muslim, “fundamentalism” means the denial of the humanity of non-Muslims and the supremacy of Islam — all of which leads to heinous violence, cultural incompatibility, and more. The fundamentals of Islam are thus not favorably disposed toward a peaceful world, or toward the co-existence of Muslims and non-Muslims.

In a Catholic sense, “fundamentalism” could simply be another term for “orthodoxy.” Catholic “fundamentalism” is admittedly in short supply today, but is necessary. Catholic “fundamentalism” — following the fundamentals of the Faith — is a path to holiness. All of the saints, blesseds, and holy men and women of the Church were fundamentalists; they practiced the very essence of what the Catholic Faith teaches. The more “fundamentalist” a Catholic becomes, the more they grow in faith, hope, and charity.

A Catholic fundamentalist will probably offer a daily Mass and rosary for you.

A Muslim fundamentalist would attack and behead you.

These two types of fundamentalism could not be more different. To treat them as the same thing is a diabolical deception.

I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence. This is not right or true. I had a long conversation with the imam, the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar University, and I know how they think . . .

It is ironic then, that this is the same imam who said that apostates from Islam must be executed. This is not unique or surprising, despite Francis’ ignorance of it. Such thinking is Islamic doctrine, and has been for 14 centuries.

If Pope Francis really knew about Islam, he would be aware of taqiyya, which is the doctrine that allows Muslims to lie to non-Muslims for the advancement of Islam. In severe cases, there is even the doctrine of muruna, a sub-branch of taqiyya that permits for the open violation of Islamic law in order to advance Islam among non-Muslims.

This is one of the principal reasons why Muslims cannot be trusted. Their religion allows them to lie to others for their own gain, and it is not considered sinful.

They seek peace, encounter . . . The nuncio to an African country told me that the capital where he is there is a trail of people, always full, at the Jubilee Holy Door. And some approach the confessionals — Catholics — others to the benches to pray, but the majority go forward, to pray at the altar of Our Lady… these are Muslims, who want to make the Jubilee. They are brothers, they live… When I was in Central Africa, I went to them, and even the imam came up on the Popemobile…

Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa are very different from those in the rest of the Muslim world. African Muslims have proven themselves to be the most open to becoming Christians, and right now the biggest missionary expansion into Muslim territory is taking place in this area. So yes, it is no surprise that many Muslims are approaching the Faith, and this is certainly to the good. However, in the larger world there has been increased violence perpetrated by Muslims upon the citizens of the (post-Christian, but still identifiable with Christianity) west, because Islam sanctions this.

I also write for Shoebat.com, the website of Walid Shoebat, self-described as a former “radicalized Muslim willing to die for the cause of Jihad” until he converted to Christianity, and now works to expose the harsh realities of Islam. Practically every day, we are reporting on some heinous act of Muslim violence in regions dominated by Muslims. For the unquestioning majority of cases, they are (a) Muslims attacking Christians because (b) they are “infidels” and (c) they are wholly unprovoked.

We can coexist well… But there are fundamentalist groups, and even I ask… there is a question… How many young people, how many young people of our Europe, whom we have left empty of ideals, who do not have work… they take drugs, alcohol, or go there to enlist in fundamentalist groups.

Muslims do no co-exist well with others. There are periods of peace in which Christians and Muslims get along well, but they never last, because Islam is a religion which seeks, as a matter of its own ideology, complete domination over all non-Muslims. To conflate the patience of many Muslims in achieving Islamic aims with peace and harmony is a mistake. With Islam, it is only a matter of time — and of achieving a demographic majority — before the mask comes off and the true goals of Islamic dominion are asserted.

The idea that the Islamic religion is ancillary to violence perpetrated by Muslims could not be further from the truth. It is the Muslims from good homes with a strong religious upbringing who are the most likely to become terrorists. This has been shown to be so repeatedly, because the violence of Islam is a natural fruit of its anti-human dogma, and as such, a person who has been well-formed in Islamic teaching will be more likely to become radicalized. On the other hand, a Muslim who has been poorly formed or is not particularly devout in their religious practice is far more likely to be secular, “moderate,” or apostatize completely.

The claims that economic disadvantages, unemployment, or lack of education are the catalysts for Islamic violence have been repeatedly shown to be wrong. It is a more attentive study of the Islamic faith, or some event that moves a Muslim to a more devout practice of that faith, that most often leads to radicalization.

One can say that the so-called ISIS, but it is an Islamic State which presents itself as violent . . . because when they show us their identity cards, they show us how on the Libyan coast how they slit the Egyptians’ throats or other things… But this is a fundamentalist group which is called ISIS… but you cannot say, I do not believe, that it is true or right that Islam is terrorist.

It would be nice to identify those “Egyptians” as “Christians,” because that is the reason why ISIS beheaded them.

Yes, ISIS is a fundamentalist group. They are faithful Muslims doing what Muhammad did. If you don’t believe me, read the first biography of Muhammad ever written — The Life of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq. You will find little difference between Muhammad’s actions and those of ISIS. Or read the critique that the Islamic State has just published in response to Pope Francis’ attempts to frame Islam as a religion of peace. It is a complete rejection of his claims, and it quotes Islamic teaching to bolster its case.

Yes, it’s true that not all (or even most) Muslims are terrorists. However, terrorism is an inherent part of Islam. Terrorism is a means by which to compel men to join Islam.

Izoard: Your concrete initiatives to counteract terrorism, violence?

Pope Francis: Terrorism is everywhere. You think of the tribal terrorism of some African countries. It is terrorism and also . . . But I don’t know if I say it because it is a little dangerous… Terrorism grows when there are no other options, and when the center of the global economy is the god of money and not the person — men and women — this is already the first terrorism! You have cast out the wonder of creation — man and woman — and you have put money in its place. This is a basic terrorism against all of humanity! Think about it!

I have thought about it for 18 years actually. I began my intensive study of Islam in 1998. I have spent more than half of my life in this field, so I can say I know a few things about it.

Islamic terrorism is not about money. Or education. Or politics. Those are, at best, influencing factors. They are not the root cause.

The root cause is Islamic theology. The same theology that denies the intrinsic nature of man and instead places eternal beatitude in pursuing the path of a 7th century Arabian madman who is regarded as the perfect model for humanity when he was one of the most inhumane men who ever lived.

The problem is Islam and the Muslims, since it is through the Muslims that Islam’s power is able to be made manifest on the earth.

We can love people all we want and be good to them, but it does not mean they will be good to us. In the case of Islam, Muslims regard Christian charity and mercy as weakness, and they exploit it to advance themselves and Islam at our expense.

Mercy, something which Pope Francis talks about a lot, is but one part of love, which is the nature of God (1 John 4:8). The other part is justice. While justice without mercy is legalism, mercy without justice is license. Both are sins.

Jesus said to St. Faustina that “he who refuses to pass through the door of my mercy must pass through the door of my justice.”

The Catholic Church’s hierarchy in modern times has been merciful to Muslims to the point of licentiousness. For the honor of God and the dignity of the Faith, with regard to what Islam and Muslims have done, a strong dose of justice is necessary and long overdue. That begins with allowing ourselves to understand the truth of what we face, not covering it over with wishful thinking.

Taken from Letters of Bishop Ignaty Branchianinnov, Volume 7, Moscow, 1993. Letter 57, page 78.To a hieromonk of the St Sergius Hermitage, who had denounced
[the Holy Hierarch] Archimandrite Ignaty in writing, for his variable
disposition to those around him, and to himself in particular.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Placing my hope on the help of God and His strength, which acts
through feeble people, I have decide to answer your letter, similarly
with a letter. And this is more so in order that my mind not become
distracted in a personal conversation, and not exhaust itself in noisy
words, but rather in the quiet solitude of my kelia maintain a peaceful
state, which is the condition for seeing Truth. Now I stand before Her,
and illuminated by Her light, I look at my soul and check with what I
see in your accusation. What then do I see? I see wounds in my soul, I
see the multitude of her illnesses, I see weaknesses, of which some are
natural to it, and others a result of injuries and diseases, past and
present. I turn my attention to my life so far: I see that it is a
chain of sins, a chain of falls; almost at every step I was mocked and
insulted by the devil due to my lack of spiritual wisdom, due to an
excess of pride, my unwillingness to ask advice from my neighbour. Such
is the state of my soul, now when my life’s journey has reached more
than half my days. Meanwhile my body has become weak; It is pierced and
cut to pieces by various ailments. They are messengers; they proclaim
the approach of the separation of the soul from the body. Soon, soon I
will lie down on the bed, not in order to give my overworked body
temporary rest, but to shed it off myself in the ark of the coffin, in
the bowels of the earth, from which I was taken, until the future
general resurrection. Remember me O Lord in Thy Kingdom: for my soul is
sick, and the body is imprinted with sin. In my state, it would be more
seemly for me to leave everything, and without hindrance, surrender
oneself to inconsolable weeping; when all is lost, at least not to lose
repentance.

But to achieve this state, which I recognize as the most decent for
myself, I do not use any means other than my feeble prayer, in which I
ask for the fulfillment of God’s will in me. This petition for of the
will of God is instilled by fear of asking for something that exceeds my
strength. This fear is suggested by experience itself: because in all
experiences where my strength was tested, my weakness was revealed;
Wherever the demons depicted before my mind a picture of the brilliant
successes, there, in fact, turned out to be damage, there arose a
disaster, there a fatal abyss was covered with flowers. I realized the
deceit after committing to the deception; I learned of the prelest,
having already been seduced and corrupted by it. Now I am afraid to
begin anything by self-will, even such things as I consider edifying.
The Holy Fathers say - it is better to do combat with faeces, ie, with
fornication and gluttony, than with self-opinionated logical thinking,
high mindedness, pride and contempt. For these last passions are subtle,
they imperceptibly creep into ones mind, take the form of sound and
righteous thoughts, and cannot be detected other than by the light of
grace. I stand before the Providence of God with my mind, putting aside
at this moment worldly wisdom and its righteousness. God created me
without me desiring or asking for it: because how could “nothing” wish
for, or even more so - ask for anything? God redeemed me – who was
fallen and lost; the cost of this redemption was Himself.

Meanwhile, as although He is the Redeemer, clothed in
humility, He is not recognized by carnal minds, despite His obviousness.
They are left to wonder at things spiritually akin to themselves,
chasing after things foreign to themselves, liable to decay.

To
me, the wretched one, He has granted to know Himself. When my eyes were
closed, clay mixed with spittle coming out of His mouth were healing
them. The Cross of Christ opens the eyes of the mind; the Cross of
Christ maintains health, heals diseases of the eyes. Separate from the
Cross of Christ there is no truth of Christ. Peace and truth will
destroy those that are of the devil. I stand before my Lord and I see
His Holy Providence, and I wonder at His long-suffering patience, how
merciful He is to those sinful errors into which I fell due to my
self-will and self-willed logical thinking. I commit my soul into the
hands of God; that which He grants me, that I will accept. He knows my
strength, because He gave it to me. If I am given one talent
corresponding to my strength, I do not search for five, so as not to
fail under the weight of them; so that the gift which is meant to serve
for benefit, does not serve for condemnation.

I run from my sinful falls - not into reclusion, not into
the desert - but to self-reproach, to confession of my sins, to
repentance.

My bewilderment, my rational judgements and my will, I cast into the depths of the mercy and providence of God.

Such is the spectacle with which my soul confronts me when I look at
her with my mind, in the light of the teaching of the Gospel. Now I will
turn to the words of reproof found in your letter. The actual nature of
the case shows, that you, looking at the externals of my behavior, have
noticed far fewer flaws than actually are found in my soul. Conscious
of my great debt, I must acknowledge the smaller one, which I concede to
even in the case that I would not like to confess. For this it remains
for me to tearfully ask your forgiveness and holy prayers for my
correction. If, according to the words of Saint Isaac (the Syrian),

justification by word does not belong to Christian life and is not prescribed anywhere in the teaching of Christ.

If the Lord Himself, standing before worldly authority, while
exalting the Truth of the Cross before the gaze of the universe, did not
give any attention to external truth, not one word, like dust and
ashes, if He met their accusations with silence, then who, looking at
the depths of his heart, and seeing accurately, dare oppose his accuser?
Such a person will tell the sword waving at him: strike, because you
were not raised in vain. He will say to the disasters: Attack me and
dispirit me, because I deserve it. He will say to the body, exhausted by
disease and sent into exile: Go, for you have sinned. He will say to
his brethren, pray for me the defiled one, you angels of God. He will
fall to the feet of adulterers and murderers and say unto them: pray for
me, for you are more righteous than me. Such is my state, when the
[spiritual] eyes of my mind are open; but when they close, then my
condition becomes far worse: for the wounds naturally remain the same;
but to the diseases of my heart is added the blindness of my mind.

From blindness is born insensitivity, loss of love for
our neighbor, and the loss of compunction and comforting mourning, the
amassing wounds to wounds and diseases to diseases.

In short - whether I see or am blinded - my condition is extremely
disastrous, worthy of the tears and sobs of all who know and love me.
Such is my answer to everyone who criticizes, and to you. If I answer
otherwise – I sin.

I would have had to be satisfied with this if I were not speaking to
my spiritual son, who, while uttering accusations against me as his
heart dictates, nevertheless does not claim that they are the absolute
truth, but rather, he offers them to me for judgement. Therefore I feel
obliged to continue my conversation, and despite the fact that I am
feeble, borrowing light from the True Light - the Word of God, I feel
obliged to satisfy the demands of your letter. Not so much by paying
attention to the specific thoughts contained in this letter, as by
uncovering, in the light of the Gospel teachings, those secret motives
of the heart of which these ideas are the fruit. According to the
Fathers,

those people who require a complete elimination of flaws from their close ones, hold a false notion of this matter.

We find this opinion of the Fathers also among the Apostles: one of
them (John the Evangelist), says: “If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John. 1, 8. Another
says (St. Paul): “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law
of Christ.” Gal. 6, 2. What can give rise to the reproaching of our
neighbour’s weakness, is shown in Scriptures in men of the highest
virtue. Who is holier than the Apostles? However in the Acts we read
that between the Apostles Barnabas and Paul there arose a dissension,
and after the dissension - a separation. Beyond doubt we are told of
this circumstance by Scripture with the aim that we, infirm as we are,

be careful and not get carried away by imaginary zeal,
but carry one another’s burdens. In this way fulfilling the law of
Christ! Carry my weaknesses, then; and I will try to bear yours, as I
have tried to do hitherto.

Obviously it is impossible for you to say that you have no weaknesses.

My weaknesses are heavier more so for you than for me: and yours are perceptible more for me than for you.

If the weight was not burdensome, then carrying it would have no
value, and there would not be any reason to give this commandment.

But the value of reciprocally bearing weaknesses is so
great that Scripture has concluded that in this lies the fulfillment of
the law of Christ, Who bore upon Himself the sins of the whole world.

I will say a few words about inconstancy. Inconstancy, or
changeableness, according to the holy Fathers, is the constant and
inevitable weakness of humans, as long as a person is found in this
country of his exile, that is, on this earth. Perfect constancy is a
property of the future order of things. Variableness is not only
characteristic to us who are infirm, as even the greatest Saints
acknowledged this in themselves. Tolerate the inconstancy in me, and I
will tolerate it in you. My inconstancy is more palpable for you, and
yours – for me. Let us bear our mutual weaknesses that we may know that
the yoke of Christ is good: if we throw off the yoke of Christ, then
which yoke shall we subordinate ourselves to? Excellently the holy
Elijah Ekdik said:

“The house of the soul - is patience, for it lives in
it; and its food – is humility, for it is fed by this.” Exactly so -
thoughts with humility of wisdom keep the soul in patience. If this is
so, then this follows: there is nothing that banishes the soul from
patience, as much as prideful thoughts.

Repeatedly I have told you and many others, to whom I thought to
impart soul-profiting knowledge: When I check my disposition and
behaviour against the writings of the holy Fathers, I find that I would
have to be found among the beginners in ancient monasticism. However in
contemporary monasticism, where the knowledge of the Fathers and the way
of thinking only somewhat imprinted by such knowledge, is so rare, that
one who teaches his listeners the teaching of the Fathers, is a
greatest rarity. It is with this condition that I govern you all and
have you as my spiritual children, so as to teach all of you the Gospel
way of thinking, which is the way of thinking of the Fathers.

Truly, truly, I say to you: these days, when there are
no works of the spirit, and spiritual wisdom is an extreme rarity, the
devil so hates this wisdom that he would like to destroy it from the
face of the earth.

In this way the Gospel would remain only for our condemnation, and
not edification; for we shall be judged according to the Gospel, as
foretold to us by the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 42, 40).

The devil is ready to give us ten times the common
sense, and multiply our practical skills a thousandfold, if he can only
steal from us the knowledge of the Cross, by which we can come to stand
at the right hand of God

. One who ascribes to himself intelligence and good sense, likens
himself to the devil, who wanted to be acknowledged as the source of
enlightenment. He actually is the source of imitated light – fleshly
wisdom, which does not submit to God’s reason, bears upon itself the
stamp of pride and contains in itself the precondition of all sinful
falls.

“Have you seen someone who has fallen? Know, that he followed his own will”, says Abba Dorotheus.

This holy one said concerning himself; that it would be better for
him to sin by external act, following the advice of his neighbor; than
to act without a blessing. And I, in my small experience, whenever I
fail, I have consolation from the fact that the deed has been done or
started not without a blessing.

Therefore, unworthy as I am, it would be befitting to attend to one’s own shortcomings. However

in my responsibilities of Superior and spiritual
father, I must tell you what I see with my sinful eyes: your warfare is
caused by the passion of pride.

The feeling that one possesses practical intelligence and
understanding is a justification of pride, in which the pride is hidden.
When the feeling towards myself and to those surrounding me grows cold,
this are the fruits of pride, because after disparaging ones neighbour
there follows a drying up of love. And the disappearance of love is an
indication of that demonic thoughts have been accepted, just as the
growth of love for one’s neighbour is a sign of accepting the seeds of
grace.
The passion of pride acts differently to the passion of fornication,
or of anger. These two passions are obvious, and their justification and
the cunning in their excuses is clearer to behold. Pride, on the other
hand, creeps in imperceptibly. Pride is sown by abilities, splendor,
and even more so by the praise of men. Although, it may seem that we do
not accept praises and do not agree inwardly with those that praise us,
the secret imprint of praise nevertheless remains in the mind and
heart, and when we are disparaged - it is burdensome; and the more
burdensome it is for us, the more saturated we are with praise. This is
how it is proven that the imprint is present, and the secret
implantation of pride. Woe to us! The most grace-filled gifts have been
the occasion for pride in people, and the fruits of pride – is a fall!
The main symptoms of pride are that one’s feeling towards people around
one grows cold, and the abandonment of confession. Now we must show the
cause of this vice, and give a proper account of the door by which it
enters, or rather, goes out, says St John of the Ladder (Step 11:1)

Make it a rule for yourself to confess your thoughts at
least twice weekly. Just as the soul conforms to the body, in the same
way express your humility by the bowing of the body. Say and repeat to
your thought about your brothers: “These are Christ’s sheep, these are
angels of God”, and contempt for them will be destroyed, which is of
pride.

Then, trusting in the mercy of God, peace and love will enter your
heart, and by the action of grace it will be shown to you that you are
in temptation. Your eyes will be opened and you will get to know your
real delusion. This case shall enter into the treasury of your spiritual
experiences, and will provide you with protection for the future, and
nourishment for the brotherhood. For a man who is not tempted, is not
skilled, but “in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able
to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18), says Scripture.May
the Lord grant that you follow this counsel of Saint John of the Ladder:

“When once we have entered the arena of religion and
obedience we must no longer judge our good manager in any way at all,
even though we may perhaps see in him some slight failings, since he is
only human. Otherwise, by sitting in judgment we shall get no profit
from our subjection. It is absolutely indispensable for those of us who
wish to retain undoubting faith in our superiors to write their good
deeds indelibly in our hearts and constantly remember them, so that when
the demons sow among us distrust towards them, we may be able to
silence them by what is preserved in our memory. For the more faith
flourishes in the heart, the more alacrity the body has in service. But
he who has stumbled on distrust has already fallen…” (Step 4:6-7).

Likewise, pride often sprouts from exercising spiritual care over
those close to us, as a sprout shoots up from a wheat grain. Therefore,
Saint Mark the Ascetic, said: “When a man benefits another by word or
deed, may the grace of God enlighten the both.” Apostle Paul says: “For
we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your
servants for Jesus’ sake”. (2 Cor 4:5) For the person who cultivates
these feelings, partiality for people will be destroyed, and the love of
Christ will reign, seeing God’s image in everyone. Then, when the mind
delights in this love, a person sees himself as a vessel filled with
stench and filth, and marvels at how the rays of Divine teaching pass
through him and heal human souls.

It is proper for me here to recall the words of Saint John of the
Ladder, which are repeated also by Saint Nilus of Sora: some were mired
in the mud, but cautioned others against similar acts, and for helping
others, the Lord gave them salvation. (Step 26:14) Therefore, after
such serious wounds,

I learned that the signs of pride in a person are
humiliation or contempt of his neighbours, and negligence in confessing.
In and of itself pride is not noticeable to a person, as it is a most
subtle passion, which even deceived the light-bearing Angel and arranged
a fall in Heaven. The other passions are dependent on pride, just as a
building is connected to a foundation which is hidden under the earth.

Finally I bequeath to you to keep this letter secret until my death.
In the meantime, I commend you and myself to the mercy and grace of
God, which is able to, if we do not ourselves reject it, to give us
salvation, although we are completely unworthy of it. Amen.

AD

AD

THE SISTER CHURCHES

The True Orthodox Churches of Romania, and Bulgaria, and with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and with the Synod in Resistance, are called by the Grace of the Lord to coexist in Mysteriological communion.

from §4 of “Schedule of Steps in the Union Process” Feb. 2014

VL AGAFANGEL PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Theotokos and all the Saints: keep our souls unharmed from the destructive influences of globalism, ecumenism, and sergianism, and give all of us the strength to endure the latest onset of persecution of the Church of Christ. Amen

QUOTE

"I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you... I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you.”

St. John Chrysostom

QUOTE

"If we have a good priest (or bishop), we give thanks to God. If a bad one, we endure him".

- old Russian saying

QUOTE

"And here is something to which I would like to draw your attention to – something about which very many do not think about. Father Archimandrite Constantine, whom probably many of you know, the reposed editor of the journal “Orthodox Rus’”, a profound Christian mind, considered that the most terrible among all the achievements of the communists was that the communists created their own false-church, a soviet church which they shoved onto the unfortunate people in place of the genuine Church which went underground into the catacombs. Do not think that I am exaggerating or that Father Constantine was exaggerating!

Once, in the year 1918, a Pan-Russian Church Council was held. At this Council, the entire Pan-Russian Church together with its first holy hierarch, Patriarch Tikhon anathematized, excommunicated from the Church not only the theomachists and godless ones themselves, but also all those who would collaborate with them."

~St. Philaret of NY

QUOTE

"To the Russians abroad, it has been granted to shine in the whole world with the light of Orthodoxy, so that other peoples, seeing their good deeds, might glorify our Father Who is in heaven, and thus obtain salvation for themselves. But if it does not perform this purpose and even abases Orthodoxy by its life, the Diaspora will have before itself two paths: either to be converted to the path of repentance, having acquired forgiveness through prayer to God and being reborn spiritually and to being capable of giving rebirth to our suffering homeland; or else being rejected by God and remaining in banishment, persecuted by everyone, until gradually it will degenerate and disappear from the face of the earth."

from Vladika John's report to the All-Diaspora Sobor in 1938

QUOTE

The apostasy of our times, to a degree unique in Christian history, is proceeding not primarily by false teachings or canonical deviations, but rather by a false understanding of Orthodoxy on the part of those who may even be perfectly Orthodox in their dogmatic teaching and canonical situation. A correct "Orthodoxy" deprived of the Spirit of true Christianity—this is the meaning of Sergianism, and it cannot be fought by calling it a "heresy," which it is not, nor by detailing its canonical irregularities, which are only incidental to something much more important.

- Russia's Catacomb Saints

QUOTE

Let it not be thought, however, that I affirm that it is necessary to prize every peace. For I know that there is a splendid disagreement and the most destructive unanimity. Yet one must love a good peace which has a good purpose: unity with God.

-St. Gregory the Theologian

QUOTE

... To pious Christians the fact that the world has fallen into godlessness is to them obvious, and they are ready to see it as an unfortunate historical inevitability ...

Professor Viktor Trostinkov

QUOTE

If you want to have assurance that you are saved, repent now that you are young and healthy and it is manifest that you left sin while you were still able to sin. But if you persevere in sin into your old age, why then you did not leave sin, but rather sin left you.

St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

QUOTE

Live in peace not only with your friends, but also with your enemies; but only your personal enemies, and not the enemies of God.

St. Theodosius of the Kiev Caves

QUOTE

Judge not according to appearances, but judge righteous judgment.

St. John 7:24

QUOTE

"If Russia is not ressurrected, a new Golgotha threatens the whole world."

Priest Vladimir Evsukoff 1980†

QUOTE

A man who does not express a desire to link himself to the latest of the saints (in time) in all love and humility owing to a certain distrust in himself, will never be linked to the preceding saints and will not be admitted to their succession, even though he thinks he possesses all possible faith and love for God and for all His saints. He will be cast out of their midst, as one who refused to take humbly the place allotted to him by God before all time, and to link himself to that latest saint (in time) as God had disposed.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

QUOTE

SCOBA, to which world orthodoxy gives such great significance, reproaching us for not belonging to it, actually is in no way a canonical organ. The Russian Church Outside of Russia was invited to take part in these conferences; however, our Church refused to send representatives there after clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate were invited. "We never and nowhere will sit at one table with them; by this our spiritual communion with the Universal Church is not broken."

Archpriest George Grabbe 1969

QUOTE

"Let us always thank the Lord that we are in the Holy Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which throughout the 80 years of its existence has trodden the straight, royal path of God, without ever turning aside and losing its way."

QUOTE

The passions lying hidden in the soul provide the demons with the means of arousing impassioned thoughts in us. Then, fighting the intellect through these thoughts, they force it to give its assent to sin. When it has been overcome, they lead it to sin in the mind; and when this has been done they induce it, captive as it is, to commit the sin in action. Having thus desolated the soul by means of these thoughts, the demons then retreat, taking the thoughts with them, and only the spectre or idol of sin remains in the intellect. Referring to this our Lord says, 'When you see the abominable idol of desolation standing in the holy place (let him who reads understand)... (Matt 24:15). For man's intellect is a holy place and a temple of God in which the demons, having desolated the soul by impassioned thoughts, set up the idol of sin. That these things have already taken place in history no one, I think, who has read Josephus will doubt; though some say that they will also come to pass in the time of the Antichrist.

Philokalia

QUOTE

There are three things that impel us towards what is holy: natural instincts, angelic powers, and probity of intention. Natural instincts impel us, when, for example, we do to others what we would wish them to do to us (cf. Luke 6:31), or when we see someone suffering deprivation or in need and naturally feel compassion. Angelic powers impel us when, being ourselves impelled to something worthwhile, we find we are providentially helped and guided. We are impelled by probity of intention when, discriminating between good and evil, we choose the good.

Philokalia

QUOTE

The outward Gospel of social idealism is a symptom of loss of faith.

Fr. Seraphim Rose

QUOTE

Impurity of intellect consists first in having false knowledge, ...

Philokalia

QUOTE

Isn't Marx really the third of a trio with Darwin and Freud as a practical source in the war against revealed truth?

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Letters, 1972

QUOTE

QUOTE

To: ROCA members from the MP

"You have to understand that you have long been in a false church, which implants in its members' souls, a false spirituality, which in turn takes root and grows stronger and stronger, the longer a man stays in it."

Bishop Athanasius, 2014

QUOTE

Mankind has gone mad, and we see with horror the abyss into which it is being drawn. Let us lay aside every worldly care, and let us fall down in prayer and readiness for the dread Judgment of the Lord. Death will not come with bombs and poisons. Death has already come and take up residence with us and in us, and has made corpses of us, Mammon has overwhelmed this sinful world, which is dominated by Queen Science, Lucifer himself, which with one hand makes medicines and machines for man's foolish happiness and with the other terrorizes him by means of the bomb! Such is the sorry state of knowledge and the agony of the world through and through. Let us lift up our hearts.

-Photios Kontoglou (†1965) letter to Dr. Cavarnos dated 5/10/57

QUOTE

"Psychopaths are a superior subspecies. We transcend humanity. We are Nature's Supermen. We deserve the subservience and availability of everyone around us. Luckily, every year 100-million people are born throughout the world. We have 100-million new choices every year."

-Sam Vaknin, self-realized psychopath

QUOTE

Our Saviour placed the Church in the world in order to save the world, and Satan is always trying to place the world into the Church in order to destroy the Church.

attributed to Desert Fathers

QUOTE

"If you see lying and hypocrisy, expose them in front of all, even if they are clothed inpurple and fine linen."

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